Did anyone else follow the stories of the two people who were trying the solo on-foot treks across Antarctica this fall/winter? They both made it, becoming the the #1 and #2 people to do so. In the life of a vegetable, surviving this past freeze was a similar feat to those of Rudd and O'Brady's (just very scaled down).
While it has definitely gotten this cold while we've been growing greens in the winter, I'm not sure it has gotten that cold with such a brutal windchill. The temperature gauge read 7 degrees on Monday morning, but that night and day also had sustained 25 mph winds with gusts in the 35-40mph range. It was pretty nasty. In a mid-morning check-up on the cooler temperatures and the high tunnel conditions, I had to turn up the heat(!) in the coolers to keep the storage vegetables from freezing. In the high tunnels, I was pretty dismayed that the ground inside was frozen solid, not just frosted, which is what we'd have seen with those same temperatures without the wind. Those tunnels are 30'x196' and can hold quite a thermal mass in their soils, and we had covered all of the plants with three layers of thick frost blanket the day before. That is all you can really do, and it was still an ice sculpture display in there...
Once the wind stopped and the temps rose and the sun stayed out, most everything thawed out and started metabolizing again. Some crops(sweet salad turnips, boc choy) were hit back more than others(head lettuce, salad mix, tatsoi, arugula). We strategically harvested the greens intensely last week, so there is just a little bit to harvest this week.
Sooo...
Join us in a wild celebration of hearty root crops! Their storage abilities are just what gets us through these times, while we wait for the chilled greens to recover and regrow.
Most delicious right now is simply roasting them:
Roasted Root vegetables recipe:
Desired quantity of any of these: beets, turnips, potatoes, watermelon radish, sweet potatoes and carrots
Olive oil
Sea salt, for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Scrub and chop veggies into 1.5" pieces. No need to peel: our produce is organic. Lay flat on a roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil and toss vegetables until they appear lightly coated. Sprinkle on desired amount of salt. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring after 30 minutes.
And another great way to enjoy root vegetable fresh and raw is to pickle them! The carrots, cabbage, and watermelon radishes work best for this.
Pickled root vegetable Recipe:
2 glass quart jars with lids
6 cups thinly cut root vegetables
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Preparation
- Place 3 cups root vegetables in a medium glass jar; top with half of garlic and spices(not the salt). Repeat procedure with the remaining 3 cups cucumber and remaining seasoning.
- Combine vinegar, sugar and salt ingredients in a small saucepan; stir well. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Let cool, then pour over vegetable mixture. Seal and chill in the refrigerator at least 4 days before beginning to eat.
Note: Pickles may be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month, and you can divide quantities above if you don't want to make that much.
Eat well,
Jess, writing for Chelsea, Darci, Kelsey, Kyle, Lara, Monica, Morgan, and Scott
|
|
|
|
